Grabner tallies hat trick as Moose storm past Chops

MANITOBA 6, IOWA 1 Manitoba erupted for five goals in the third period to turn a 1-1 deadlock into a 6-1 road win over Iowa on Friday in the opener of the teams’ two-game weekend set at Wells Fargo Arena.

Second-year pro Michael Grabner recorded his first career hat trick for the Moose, including the tying goal and eventual game-winner.

The teams played a scoreless first period, but Chops forward Troy Bodie put his team on top with a power play goal exactly three minutes into the middle frame.

Grabner tied it for the Moose at 19:44 of the second and kicked off the third-period onslaught with an unassisted tally at 6:20.

AHL All-Star goaltender Cory Schneider made 32 saves for the Moose and won his 12th straight AHL decision since dropping Manitoba’s season opener.

The Moose and Chops will square off again on Saturday night.

NORFOLK 4, MANCHESTER 3 Norfolk jumped out to a 3-0 lead a little more than 20 minutes into the game and held on for a 4-3 win over visiting Manchester on Friday in the opener of the teams’ two-game set at the Scope. Admirals captain Zenon Konopka scored twice in the victory – his first goals since Nov. 29 – and Grant Potulny posted a goal and an assist for Norfolk.

The Admirals started quick out of the gate when Konopka beat Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Bernier just eight seconds after the opening face-off. Potulny made it 2-0 on the power play at 17:06 of the first, and Konopka added another power play marker 50 seconds into the second stanza.

The Monarchs attempted a comeback, as Matt Moulson scored a power play goal of his own at 15:09 of the second and Ryan Murphy lit the lamp 1:42 into the third, making it a 3-2 game.

The teams then traded goals, with Norfolk’s Bracken Kearns scoring unassisted at 4:10 and Manchester’s Trevor Lewis answering with yet another power play score at 13:57.

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON 4, BINGHAMTON 2 Jean-Michel Daoust broke a 2-2 tie with a power play goal at 17:44 of the third period, and Connor James added a late empty-netter to give Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 4-2 road win over Binghamton at the Broome County Arena.

PROVIDENCE 4, BRIDGEPORT 1 Providence scored four unanswered goals to take a 4-1 win over visiting Bridgeport before 7,061 fans at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

Joe Callahan initially gave the Sound Tigers a 1-0 lead at 7:52 of the first period, but the Bruins received goals from Jeremy Reich and Jordan Knackstedt just 2:52 apart to take a 2-1 advantage into intermission.

SAN ANTONIO 2, MILWAUKEE 1 (OT) Joel Perrault lit the lamp just 16 seconds into overtime, propelling eighth-place San Antonio over first-place Milwaukee by a 2-1 count before 6,561 fans at the AT&T Center.

The Rampage forced overtime when Derek Nesbitt tied the contest at 1-1 at 13:10 of the third period, with Perrault picking up an assist.

San Antonio goaltender Josh Tordjman stopped 22 of 23 shots in the victory, which was the Rampage’s third in a row and 13th in their last 17 games (13-4-0-0).

Patric Hornqvist netted a first-period goal on the power play for the Admirals, who have earned a standings point in 10 straight games (7-0-2-1).

QUAD CITY 3, TORONTO 2 (OT) Quad City rallied from a 2-0 first-period deficit and eventually posted a 3-2 overtime win over visiting Toronto at the I Wireless Center.

Jamie Lundmark netted a power play goal just 32 seconds into the extra session to win it for the Flames. Carsen Germyn picked up his second assist of the night on the goal, and Anders Eriksson also earned a helper.

The Marlies took an early 2-0 lead on a shorthanded goal from Bates Battaglia and a power play marker off the stick of Anton Stralman, his first of the season.

ROCKFORD 3, CHICAGO 1 Rockford extended its points streak to five games (4-0-0-1) and kept Chicago struggling with a 3-1 win over the visiting Wolves on Friday at the MetroCentre.

Rob Klinkhammer, Jimmy Sharrow, and Jack Skille lit the lamp for the IceHogs, who scored once in each period. Skille posted an assist and scored his goal into an empty net in the game’s closing seconds.

IceHogs goaltender Corey Crawford made 34 saves and improved to 11-5-2 on the campaign.

Spencer Machacek netted a power play goal for the Wolves, who have lost four straight in regulation and are 0-4-1-0 in their last five contests.